Is Zong really involved in promoting child labour in Pakistan. This is what i am thinking since i received this email which says that the company is not fulfilling its social responsibility by showing a boy generating electricity by running a bycycle.
A part of the email is mentioned below;
“I was shocked to see a television advertisement of Zong in which achhota is seen doing some rescue work against the massive power cuts in the country which is utter violation of labor laws in the country. Children are our future hope and we do not want to see them ending up in garages due to want of opportunities or running after power gadgets to end darkness. Zong these days is seen promoting child labor in the garb of its new package. A poverty ridden dumb boy is seen in its latest advertisement running wildly on a phone call.If Zong cannot contribute effectively for children plight in this country, least it could do is not to project country’s image in a bad light”.
I received a similar email from a different sender few months back telling the same story about Zong being involved in promoting child labour through its TV commercial where a child was shown to send and receive the message of his master in a garage.
Similarly, few days back someone was cursing Mobilink for putting an Indian model in its TV ads whereas, a very dominant majority in Pakistan watch indian channels, the same mediums are used for advertisement purposes, even our own National Assembley was not able to put a ban on those channels when discussed in-house few months back.
Other than terrorism, this country is known for its beautiful handmade products which we buy happily. Not only we buy but we export them and earn millions of dollars. We compete in the international market because those who make these shiny products are hired on very low wages. They are poor children and women of this country.
In our daily life, we hire maids to clean our homes and wash clothes and no one notices or raise voice that most of the maids work along with their childrens. It is happening every where, at petrol pumps, offices, garages, hospitals, shops etc in Pakistan and all the other third world countries where people feel that chilren are a big support to them so they use them for earning money and others hire them becaues its a low paid job.
Government is silent and so is our society. If somone has to raise the voice, it should be against everyone involved in this process. Hitting and cursing the cellular companies is not a solution. In this particular TV commercial of Zong, i think, company wanted to end the misery of the little boy that is why his brother comes with a generator as the younger one is not required to run this bycycle anymore.
Secondly, the boy is a part of that family and is it a child labour to serve or help your parents in the time of need. Can we call it a child labour if a boy does something at home in order to serve or help his elders?
No offence to any of the comments, but its again criticisim, criticisim and criticisim. Its not about this corporate that corporate its about being true to self, when in an ad it is looked as child labour, when at home its “kam wali or wala” for rest it looks like they have never helped at home.
its all about being responsible at the end of the day, stays same for everybody either Zong, Mobilink or any other company.
agreed Shahman….
I dont understand why all these pretend that they are individual bloggers who are writing in favor or against a telecom company. If you are a regular, normal and NOT FAKE blogger then you never write, “i think some competitor of falani company is promoting negative stuff about this company.” you just say ‘what is being said about this company is something i dont agree with or i dont beleive is based on factual quotes.
This is all rubbish on part of many insiders of these telecom companies who are just pretending to be bloggers and pulling eachother’s legs.
Whether Zong is pulling Mobilink’s leg for using foreign talent or Zong is promoting itself by countering neagtive blogs aobut them by writing such articles, it doesnt matter because at the end of the day, the general public doesnt give a damn about indian actors or child labor, what they remember is a good ad or a bad ad.
i think writer eventually did a fair job.. apparently he/she finally saw the glass half full.
nevertheless lets not forget its OUR responsibility to portray positive image of ourselves.
and thanks guys.. its really good to see like minded intellectual people..
I totally agree with Syed Fasih this is totally negative propaganda by ZONG’s competitor. If we can’t appreciate good advertising at least we can keep our mouth shut.
You are absolutely right ridhwan. I think we can highlight various issues in our society through such efforts.
this is creativity, portraying reality with humor.. and v r supposed to encourage it rather thn otherwise…
hope , leaders get a msg through adv…
man this corporate criticism is just idiotic and mostly it comes from the competitors. In the past Mobilink sent an email using a girl’s id to everyone around that Zong was promoting childlabor. event they guyz sent this to the newspaper and asked them to criticise it….. from religious and social point of view, we are bound to serve our parents and its a norm and a s’aadat as well. isn’t it ridiculous to guide our society in the opposite direction. Who these people are, who do not have brainsss?????
Watch carefully. I think ZONG is promoting local talent unlike Mobilink who is shooting ads with Indian model and saying ‘Jazz apna hay’ pehlay apnay logo ko kam az kam ads may he lay lo phir ye claim karo
What a crap… come on grow up.. If a child is doing some work at home or serving parents that is not child labour is what zillion on kids doing on the street at home or in factories, please higlight those. That is just real creative advertisining where a young boy doing some ‘khidmat’ for parents. If a mother ask to yound girl to clean home or do some other work and that makes her sweat. Does that means she is doing chils labour????
c’mon guys… this not fair..its an adv. nd besides plz go trough the adv once more, u r gonna c that kid is not actually doing labor work but is taking that task as a house choir..
besides, isnt it a reality that we want to c.. it is reality but with a sense of humor in it..
so plz stop criticizing everything!!!!!